


A Pet's Recovery

by FireFaithe



Series: The Pets [2]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Kaneki tortured Hide and the seven so now they're all recovering, Kaneki's really sick, M/M, Multi, Poor Kaneki, Recovering from torture, Recovery, Sequel, an army of pets, an army of pets sequel, hopefully Kaneki will turn from an insane pet to his normal self, poor Hide, poor the seven, still not exactly sure why I keep calling them the seven, the relationships are debatable, the seven pets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 01:33:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12760407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFaithe/pseuds/FireFaithe
Summary: This is the sequel to An Army of Pets! Hideyoshi Nagachika and the seven pets are now part of Anteiku, and Kaneki Ken has also rejoined the organization hiding behind the coffee shop. Kaneki is in bad mental condition, so it'll take a long time, a lot of support, and a lot more to recover. Hide's going to try and help Kaneki recover, but can he really help when he's recovering himself and having to deal with the CCG? Will Hide or Kaneki really recover from the torture they endured? Will the seven ever ease into their new lives themselves? Or will the torture forever be marked into their sanity and tolerance? Find out!Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Ghoul (:re), but I do own the seven henchmen.Warnings: ... yaoi?Maybe Hide could give Kaneki some therapy.. exposure therapy..As in HIDE AND KANEKI DO THE DEED TOGETHER





	1. Prologue: Remembrance

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter could technically be called a note....

So, let's recap, shall we?

Some sick brat tortured Kaneki to the point that Kaneki became his submissive pet.

This sick brat taped every second of Kaneki's life in his new cage, and sent the videos to Hideyoshi Nagachika since he was most important to Kaneki.

Kaneki was so messed up that at his master's command, he started raising seven pets like himself: Daichi, Mizu (real name=Takumi), Kuki, Kasai, Jiko, Hakai (real name=Reidon), and finally, Hidei (real name=Ryou Itsuwaru). Most of the rules were adopted from his Master, including taping every second and sending the videos to the person who mattered most to the student. For Mizu, it was his little brother, Yuu-chan (full name=Yuuki).

Later on, when the students are already numb to Kaneki's torture, Hide finally finds them. Anteiku also finds them. Due to unfortunate circumstances though (in other words, Kaneki's loyalty), Anteiku had to leave, or they'd end up hurting Kaneki. Hide was left there and became a new student of Kaneki's.

Hide was renamed Hidei, and Hidei was renamed Hide by Kaneki.

Hide was tortured mercilessly by Kaneki for being an 'impostor'.

Akira Mado and the CCG are curious of why Hide suddenly disappeared, so they went to his apartment, finding Nishiki instead. Long story short, Akira decides to investigate further.

Eventually, the CCG finds the torture place, and Anteiku arrives as well. Hide is revealed as a half-ghoul and kills the Master. Anteiku takes an unconscious Kaneki, Hide, and the seven safely home. The CCG's actions afterward are unknown as of yet.

The seven were warned of their families not accepting them anymore but insisted to go home anyway, so Anteiku escorted them to their homes. Each pet was rejected from their family, so they are now depressed.

Everyone is finally back at Anteiku now, and it's assumed Hide and the seven are part of Anteiku now. What will happen to the seven? How will they ease into their lives? Find out

But for now, let's just see what Kaneki does to Hide for being out of his chair.


	2. Entry Into a New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens to poor Hide for breaking so many rules?!! How will Ken integrate back into normal society?!! WHAT WILL AKIRA DO TO POOR HIDE FOR BEING A GHOUL AND ESCAPING WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER GHOULS?!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's the actual story. Yay!

"A-Ah, uh, I- GULH!" Hide's hands instinctively wrapped around Kaneki's, trying to pull them off of his throat, "A-Ah, K-Kaneki, Kaneki, that hurts, sto-stop it, w-we're all safe n-now, c-calm down!" Hide choked out, but Kaneki didn't let up. The Anteiku members tried to pull Kaneki off of Hide but failed. {I don't know how, considering therE ARE LIKE FIFTY OF THEM.}

"WHY ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR CHAIR, HIDE?" Kaneki repeated demonically, "WHERE ARE YOUR CENTIPEDES? WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE CLOTHES FROM? YOU'RE BREAKING SO MANY RULES RIGHT NOW, HIDE."

"K-Kaneki! Th-Those rules aren't-" Hide hacked, "They're inv-valid! Your Master i-is dead! No more rules, no m-more pain! Please, K-Kaneki! Please stop ch-choking me!"

"Bad bad bad baaaad, Hide, don't break rules, I have to punish you now, Hide," Kaneki's hand trailed to Hide's nether regions, and Kaneki slid his hand into Hide's pants.

"Ah! N-No, Kaneki, n-nah-" Kaneki admired the bruises on Hide's neck while his finger pierced Hide's a**hole. "Aannhh.. st-stop.. St-Stop, Kaneki..." Kaneki put his kagune in beside his finger. "I-It hu-hurts.."

"Good. This is a punishment after all. Where are my centipedes?" Kaneki looked around, but he blinked when he was in unfamiliar territory.

Actually..

This wasn't unfamiliar territory at all, was it?

"An..teiku..?" he looked at the people trying to pull him off, "Touka-chan..? Yoshimura-san..? Nishio-senpai..? Yomo-san..? Hinami-chan? Irimi-san, Koma-san? Daichi? Kuki? Mizu? Kasai? Hakai? Jiko? Hidei? What..?"

"That's not my f*cking name, Kaneki!" Hidei growled, "It's Ryou! Ryou Itsuwaru! Say it, you b*st*rd!" Ryou's kagune sneaked out and started pushing with him. The other six followed.

"Ry.. What are you talking about, Hidei? I've told you not to deny the truth. You're breaking even more rules than Hide!"

"My name is Reidon, you little f*cker! Say my name!" Hakai snarled.

"My name is Kenta, you psychopath! Say it! Kenta!" Jiko growled.

"My name is Michi, you little b*tch! Say my name!" Kasai yelled.

"My name is Shun, you a**hole! Say it! Say Shun!" Daichi shouted.

"My name is Hiroshi! Say it, you sex-crazed lunatic! Hi-ro-shi!" Kuki argued.

"My name's Takumi, you jerk! Say it! Say my name!" Mizu demanded.

"Wh-What? Y-B-Yo-Br-! S-St-Stop breaking rules! M-Master will get angry! -- WHO SAID THAT?!!"

"Kaneki! Kaneki, please, you have to calm down!" Hide cupped Kaneki's cheeks into his palms, "It's okay. Okay? Everything's okay. You don't have to follow those rules anymore. Okay?"

"B-But.. But my Master.."

"Your Master is dead, Kaneki."

"But.. the Master.."

"You can think for yourself now, Kaneki. You don't have a Master anymore."

"B-But! But I don't know how to do that!!"

"? Yes, you do, Kaneki. You used to, before that guy kidnapped you, remember?"

"B-But.. But I don't know.. ho-how to do that anymore.."

An idea popped into Hide's head, "How about this then, Kaneki- Since I'm the one who killed your Master, I'm your new Master. That works, doesn't it? That makes sense, right?"

"Oh.. Y-Yea, I guess.. So.. So you're.. my new.. Master?"

"Yup. So you better do what I say, and I command you not to enforce Rules. Okay?"

"...Um..okay.."

"Great!"

'Okay, now we just have to get Kaneki to slowly integrate back into his normal life.. Eventually, he should be able to think for himself again..' Hide thought.

"S-So.. wh..what should I do..?"

"Hm? Ah, uh.. Let's see.. For now, why don't you just calm down, and uh-" Hide froze, awkwardly/nervously smiling when he saw the seven's expressions. "O-Okay, Kaneki, from now on, I want you to have specific names for people, okay?"

"? Like what, Master?"

-u-'

"L-Like, I want you to call me Hide."

"But that's impolite, Master."

"But I want you to call me Hide. So."

"...A-Alright.. Ma-er.. Hi..Hide.."

"Great! Now, let's look at your friends then. This is Touka-chan, this is Hinami-chan, Yomo-san, Irimi-san, Koma-san, Nishio-senpai, and Yoshimura-san," Hide went through the workers of Anteiku, pointing to each one as he said their name. "Do you got all that?"

"...Y-Yeah.." Kaneki nodded.

"Okay, great! Then, we have your other friends," Hide got horrible glares from the seven for that term, "Here is Ryou, that's Kenta, this is Reidon, then you have Michi, and Shun, and Hiroshi, and finally, Takumi," Hide gestured to each of the seven as he named them. "Right?"

Truth be told, Hide himself had been reprimanded many times last night over calling them their names given to them from Kaneki. So by now, he had the names practically branded into his mind.

"U-Uh, what? M-Hide?"

"Okay, I'll go slower this time. Repeat after me, Ryou. You used to call him Hidei."

"R-Ryou.."

"Kenta. You used to call him Jiko."

"K-Kenta.."

"Reidon. You used to call him Hakai."

"Rei..don.."

"Yup. Then we have Shun. You used to call him Daichi."

"Shu..n.."

"And here is Michi. You used to call him Kasai."

"Mi..chi.."

"Yup! And here we have Hiroshi. You used to call him Kuki."

"H-Hi..roshi?"

"Yup! And finally, here is Takumi. You used to call him Mizu."

"Ta..ku..mi?"

"Yup! Great. So, just call them that, and-"

"How about he calls us Ryou-SAMA. It'll be payment for what he did. Punishment, as you would say," Ryou smirked.

"Now, Ryou, he doesn't have to add -sama," Hide scolded.

Ryou scoffed, "Like you're the boss of me?"

"Dude, you know I got you out of a lot of trouble."

"Stop acting like you're my guardian."

"That wasn't my intention."

"U-Um, Ma-Hide?"

"Yes, Kaneki?" Hide looked at him.

"... Can I call you Hide-sama?"

.

.

.

"No."

"..." Kaneki looked down. Presumably in shame. "A-Are there any other r-rules I sh-should know, Ma-Hide?"

"Eh, I don't know. I'll come up with them as I go along. Oh! But no killing. Or torturing. Or any of the sort. You got that, Kaneki?" Kaneki frowned.

"But then who will follow you under my lead?"

"Nobody, Kaneki. The only person I want to be a Master to is you. Okay? And as for the seven, they have graduated your class. Okay?"

Ryou snorted, "'Class.' You're an a**, you know that?"

"You shouldn't speak to Ma-Hide like that.." Kaneki gave a deadly cold glare to Ryou, sick of him insulting his Master.

"Now, now, both of you, cool down. Now. You do not have to have subordinates, okay, Kaneki? So no killing, no torturing, none of that. Okay?"

"..." Kaneki frowned but nodded. "So.. will I eat suicide victims like I used to? Or will I eat off of you, Maste-Hide?"

"... Let's give you suicide victims. Alright then, now that that's settled," Hide stood up and stretched. "_I_ have business to attend to."

"? What business?"

"Well, Mado-san'll have a fit about me being a ghoul and running like an outcast with a bunch of ghouls, most of which were very well known, dangerous ghouls. So, better to solve that sooner rather than later because otherwise, I will not be able to live my life as a human. Mado-san would be on my a** if I don't go to the CCG, I tell you!"

"B-But you're a ghoul now, Hide!!"

"Yea, so. Anyway, hopefully I'll come back in one, whole, living and loving piece. If not, Kaneki, I declare Yoshimura-san as your new Master."

"Wha-?!! Hide!!"

"See ya," Hide waved as he left the place.

Touka and Nishiki exchanged glances. "There's no stopping him."

"HIDE, DON'T GO!!!" Kaneki rushed after him, but Hidei grabbed his arm.

"We. Are not. Finished. With. You."

._.


	3. Debate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hide accepts his inevitable death, but Akira has another idea. The thing is, while they're working on a compromise, Hide is interrupted.

I.

Am.

So.

Dead.

No kidding.

I took black alleys to get here, just in case Mado-san had a wanted poster out for me.

...

I think I give Mado-san a little too much Evil Credit.

I walked into the 20th Ward's CCG HQ and walked up to the front desk.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Yeah, I was looking for Mado Akira, have you seen her?"

"Try behind you, Nagachika."

"Oh. Never mind. Hiii, Mado-san."

"I must say, I didn't expect you to just show up here like this."

"Yeeeaaa, kind of don't want to run from you honestly, Mado-san. Waste of my time really."

"And mine," she agreed.

"Whelp. Put the cuffs on me, Mado-san, I'm ready to die," I put out my wrists. She glanced at them.

"Actually.. I think I'll give you an offer, Nagachika."

"? What, like live for a few days in return for giving information? No thanks, just slice me with your quinque already please."

"Are you in such a hurry to die?"

I shrugged, "I've just come to terms. When I was walking over here, I realized that it is so impossible to get you to understand my side, so. I've accepted my inevitable death."

"Well, you'll have to wait a little bit longer, Nagachika."

"Huh?"

"I'm not offering you a deal; I'm offering you a job," she crossed her arms, "I've already talked it over with my superiors. I'm curious as to why an observant, intelligent, and intuitive person like yourself turned to the side of ghouls before you even became a ghoul."

"... You looked through my stuff, didn't you?"

"Most definitely."

"That's illegal."

"Not when you're attempting to find a missing person, Nagachika."

"What kind of rules do we have here?"

"Anyway, I'll get straight to the point then. The CCG would like to further your research of finding an alternative. We'll provide a job which gives salary, not arrest or kill you, and help you reach your goal of, quote, 'human and ghoul coexistence', unquote."

"There's a catch, isn't there?"

"There's always a catch, Nagachika. Kaneki Ken is the Eyepatch, is he not? The SS-rated ghoul."

"...Yes."

"I appreciate you answering my question honestly rather than avoiding it, Nagachika. Wastes less time. I hope you'll continue that trend. Now, you also know the Rabbit, the Owl, the Serpent, and a couple of other ghouls, do you not?"

"..Yep."

"And Kaneki Ken is clearly unstable."

"Yes, he is, but we are working on that. He's already stopped choking people."

"I don't even want to ask, but you better keep a close eye on them, Nagachika, if we spread immunity to them as well.. I'm sure you know what information I want."

"...There are two Owls. The one I can reach, he is the Non-Killing Owl. He actually is the reason why the 20th Ward is so peaceful. I suggest you leave him alone. The Raven, the Black Dog, and the D*vil Ape are beside him. They follow his commands. So they also help in the 20th Ward.

"The Serpent and Rabbit have.. tempers, but contrary to their first impression, they're actually quite nice. They both have humans by their side, but the Rabbit's human does not know of her nature. The Rabbit will not kill unless irked. The reason she killed those investigators, including your father, Mado-san, was for the sake of the Fueguchi daughter, who's face they had seen. She wanted the Fueguchi to live a normal life. The Fueguchi daughter is actually very innocent, and so was her mother. I don't know about the father, but the Fueguchi mother and daughter never killed; they ate suicide victims. The Fueguchi daughter likes to learn. These three people are also part of the organization that keeps the 20th Ward in place.

"Then there is Kaneki Ken. The first artificial half-ghoul success and my best friend." I took a deep breath. "Kaneki has.. mental issues. He's always been a little weird, but it got worse when he was kidnapped and tortured by Jason of Aogiri. Kaneki is very powerful, fast, and intelligent. He believes in ghoul and human coexistence just like the rest of the organization led by the Owl. While Kaneki did.. stray from that organization, he is a member of it now once more. If you just give me time, I can make Kaneki an ally to the CCG, as well as the rest of the organization. But, you must understand, that comes with a deal."

"Your ideal world, I assume?"

I nodded, "Essentially. If the CCG kills innocent ghouls, don't expect the organization to take that sitting down. The organization is very calm and smart since the Owl is the one leading it, but as I said earlier, the Serpent and Rabbit have tempers and go off the rails sometimes. The murder of your father was one of those incidents. I want to break that pattern, Mado-san. If humans and ghouls are nice to each other, this endless slaughter will end. No ghouls will ever need to kill again either since there are suicide victims and everything."

"...You haven't convinced me on the Serpent, the Rabbit, or Kaneki Ken, Nagachika."

".. The Rabbit's going to be a hard one, isn't it? Since she killed your father." I took a deep breath. "The Rabbit has saved my life once before, when I was still human. Long story short, the Serpent picked a battle with me and Kaneki; Kaneki won; since Kaneki had been starving himself, his hunger took control, and he tried to eat me; the Rabbit knocked him out and took us to the organization. The Rabbit and Serpent will not kill unless irked. And the Serpent has been better about what irks him to the point of killing.

"As for Kanek-"

My phone rang, interrupting me, and I looked at the caller in confusion.

Anteiku...?

"Sorry, I should take this, just a moment," I put the phone to my ear, "Hello?"

Chaos screamed through the phone.

"YOU A**HOLE, LEAVING US HERE WITH THIS A**HOLE!!"

"Ryou?"

"AS SOON AS YOU LEFT, HE HAD A F*CKING MELTDOWN, MAN!!"

I blinked.

"HE IS CURRENTLY TRYING TO SHOVE HIS STUPID-A**, CENTIPEDE-LIKE KAGUNE INTO EVERYONE'S EARS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE F*CK YOU WERE THINKING IN GOING TO THE CCG OR WHATEVER THE h*LL YOU'RE DOING!"

"Uh-huh.. Well, I'm sorry, Ryou, but I'm kind of in the middle of a very serious and important talk that could possibly determine the fate of all of us."

"I DON'T F*CKING CARE IF THE FATE OF THE UNIVERSE DEPENDS ON THIS SO-CALLED TALK, YOU GET YOUR SORRY A** OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"Yeaaa, see, I can't DO that, Ryou. You'll have to stall him until I get home, okay?"

"YOU LITTLE MOTHERF*CKE-" I clicked end.

I laughed nervously as Mado-san raised her eyebrows. "Sorry about that. Where were we?"

"You were explaining why we should spare Kaneki Ken."

"Ah yes. We will fix him, I can promise you that. And he will be a very nice ally."

"... Why don't you just deal with your boyfriend, Nagachika. Then you can explain to me."

"Thank you," I nodded and ran off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this isn't too long, but I can't help myself!! I wanted to post this since I did the first sentence!!


	4. Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hide solves the problem in the house, and later, he gets adjusted into his new group.

"KANEKI, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT RULES?!!" Hide, the cowardly b*st*rd, slammed the door open.

THANK GOD!

"YOU F*CKING TURD!!"

"OH MY G*D, RYOU, WHAT THE h*LL HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?!!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?!! I HAD A KAGUNE SHOVED UP MY EAR! YOUR STUPID KANEKI CAN'T DO SH*T, MAN! HE THOUGHT IT'D FIT LIKE A NORMAL CENTIPEDE, AND HE FAILED MISERABLY!"

"Y-yeah, I got that, okay, why don't you get the First Aid Kit, man, and I'll calm Kaneki down!"

"993. 986. 979. 972."

"Aaaaand he is already cuddling in a corner, counting down by sevens. Kaneki? Kaneki, you alright, buddy?" Hide carefully and cautiously walked over to the b*tch.

"Did I do bad, Hide?" Kaneki looked up at him, looking all innocent with tears in his eyes.

F*cking b*tch.. Liar. I hate people like him.

"No, no, that's okay, that's alright. I told you to drop those rules, didn't I? So why were you trying to put your centipede kagune in people's ears, Kaneki?"

"...I broke a rule.. I deserve a punishment.. I'm sorry, Hide.."

"Dude, you do not-" Hide took a deep breath. "Okay, fine, you deserve a punishment." Kaneki's frown deepened. "As your punishment, I declare that you will apologize everyone you shoved your kagune on, and you will treat their wounds. Okay?"

"Okay, Hide.." Kaneki stood up and did as he was told. Felt f*cking disgusting to have his hands on me, but I felt pretty superior, having him acting like my little b*tch maid.

Once Kaneki was finished treating us, he went right back to Hide.

"What should I do now, Hide?"

"Now? Uh.. Let's see.. How about.. you wipe the floors! As part two of your punishment."

"Okay, Hide.."

Hide is clearly not Master Material.

\------------------------------------------------------------

"Hide, what about my centipedes?"

"Your centi-ah, I'm sorry, Kaneki, they were probably confiscated by the CCG."

"Aw.. but I worked so hard to get them as a reward.."

"... How about this then, Kaneki. As compensation, you get to choose a different reward. What do you want, buddy?"

"I want my 9,001 centipedes back. And I want my 12,563 centipedes that died back from the grave. Did you know me and my late Master would always put graves for my centipedes on our front lawn? And I named them when they died."

"...That's.. great, Kaneki. But I can't do that. The CCG took your 9,001 centipedes away, and those 12,551 centipedes-"

"12,563. You forgot 12 of my centipedes, Hide."

"..Right.. Those 12,563 centipedes are dead, and it's beyond my power to bring them back. I'm sorry, but you'll have to choose something else."

"... Can I f*ck you, Hide?"

"..." Hide sighed, "Alright, buddy, if that's what you really want as a reward.."

"Yay!"

"Are you sure you don't want 9,001 books though?"

"Oh. Then I want to f*ck you, and then I want 3,000 books. That's how much your sex is worth to me, Hide, 6,001 books," Kaneki's eyes sparkled.

"..Right.. thanks.. I guess."

"You're very welcome, Hide!"

{I feel like this is a good place to stop..., but it's so short.... I also don't know where to go from here.. Eh, whatever. Back to Akira!!}

\------------------------

Unfortunately, Hide had to bring Kaneki with him, or Kaneki would go on a rampage at Anteiku.

"So, I'm not going to be able to leave Kaneki alone for a while, just until he gets this 'there-are-no-rules' thing down, but I can assure you, he will not kill. Right, Kaneki?"

"I will not kill," Kaneki repeated.

"Yea. So."

"...I want strict supervision on Kaneki Ken."

"Yes, ma'am.. -u-' "

\------------------------------------

"So, you will be put in the Intelligence Division, of course. Ichinose will brief you on your new job."

"My name is Ichinose Koujimaku. Don't try any funny business, Nagachika, or I will report you."

"... I feel like he is very hostile, Mado-san."

"You're a ghoul now, Nagachika- get used to it. I have other things to do now, so I'll see you later," Mado walked away.

"..."

"The purpose of this new line of research that you will be joining is to lessen the deaths on our hands and pick out so-called innocent ghouls by making a way for ghouls to eat something other than flesh."

"Yeah, I know that already, I'm the one who came up with the idea."

"SO. You will be part of Group S1. You will experiment what you are told, Nagachika. If I tell you to put more Sulfur in it, you'll put more sulfur in it." Hide kept his mouth shut. "Is that understood, Nagachika?" Hide nodded. "Then, I will show you to your group."

Hide was led through the huge room. He tried to keep his questions inside. Hopefully, his group would be nicer, and he could ask them about any questions he had.

"Here we are. Group S1. Again, I repeat, do NOT try any funny business, Nagachika. It's what I hate most. After your stupid kind."

"... Right.. got that, sir."

Ichinose walked away.

"Haha, escorted by the boss, eh? I have no idea why he's the boss of this new line of research honestly," a voice commented, and Hide looked. The guy had red hair and a smirk. His eyes were green. "My name's Taiga Narino, nice to meet you," he held out his hand, and Hide shook it.

"Hideyoshi Nagachika. You can call me Hide. Nice to meet you too."

"So, what part will you be working on, Nagachika-san?" another person smiled softly. This boy had blue eyes and blue hair. He had a notebook in his arms.

"I'm experimenting exactly what I'm told to do, supposedly."

"Ah. Then we'll be working closely together. My name is Yuki Sagaru. I write down the experiments; I'm the recorder."

"The ingredients, effects, all of that stuff?"

"Yes. Clearly Koujimaku-san didn't explain very well to you, or were you just too unnerved to reply? You see, there are multiple groups in here, many, as you can see. Each group has five members- the experimenter, the recorder, the runner, the supervisor, and the tester. Taiga-kun is our tester. Our supervisor is Ichi here, and he's actually Koujimaku-san's son."

"Oh.. hey," Hide waved awkwardly with a nervous chuckle to the man who looked exactly like Ichinose, only younger. "Nice to meet you.."

"You won't be able to try any funny business with me around, Nagachika."

-u-'

"Daiyone..? Hahaha.."

"I'll be watching you thoroughly. And Yuki, the S1 Groups are the only ones with supervisors."

"Oh.. r-right.. Sorry."

"Oh? We have a new member?" a guy with curly hair stepped up. His hair was red, only with a slight tint of pink and orange, and it reached his shoulders. His eyes were purple.

"Yes, another experimenter, Hashiga-kun," Yuki smiled politely.

"Hey. What's up? My name's Hashiga Koumano, but you can call me whatever you want."

"F*ggot."

"Oi! You wanna fight, Narino?!!"

"Nah, I'd rather your hands be far away from me," Taiga smirked.

"Oh my G*d. Guys, I am so sick of fighting, can you guys please-" {Hide}

"By the way, Nagachika-kun.." Yuki cocked his head, "Who is that white-haired person beside you? What will he be doing?"

"Huh? A-Ah, he's just here to wander."

"Hide, can I speak now?"

"Dude, you just spoke. Sure."

"Okay. So, why are we in the CCG?"

"I told you this already-Mado-san offered me a job in return for immunity, so I took it."

"I'm still confused, Ma-Hide."

"Dude, you don't have to worry about a thing, man. Just stay there. You're my bodyguard, remember?"

"I'll protect you, Hide."

"Yeah. So, just stay here. That's all you need to do. Don't worry about anything else, man."

Kaneki gave an intense look to Koumano {All these f-ing OCs.}, "Keep your hands off Hide, or I'll cut them off with my kagune." Koumano's eyes widened.

"Dude, I am not into that."

"Now, now, Kaneki, there's no need to be hostile. Keep your hands and kagune off the investigators! Okay?"

"But I'm your bodyguard."

"Dude, he won't hurt me."

"He's gay."

"...Dude, he will not touch me in that way. Okay? So don't worry about it."

"Hide is mine."

"Yea, yea, we got that, buddy. Okay? Uh, Sagaru-san, you said 'another' experimenter?"

"Yes. Hashiga-kun is our runner, so he's not always here. That's why he wasn't here when you first came, but..." Yuki glanced around. "Ah, there she is. She'd gone to get a drink of water."

"Oh."

"She needs to keep her hands off too."

"Dude, nobody's gonna be touching me, okay?"

A girl with black hair that went beyond her waist {I can't f-ing spell waist. Or smell apparently. I mean.. ah ghoul darn it.} and colorless eyes stepped up and looked at Nagachika and Kaneki.

"Who's this?"

"This is Nagachika Hideyoshi, Miyako-san. He'll be working beside you as another experimenter."

"And the man beside the one with bright clothing?"

"That is..?" Yuki looked at Hide for clarification.

"Oh, right. This is Kaneki Ken, my best friend."

"Hide is my Master."

"...He's mental. We're trying to get him to ease back into society.."

"Geez, I couldn't tell he was insane from the waY HE THREATENED TO CUT MY HANDS OFF WITH KAGUNE. What the h*ll, man?!! Why are you even joking about having kagune?!"

"A-Ah, uh.. he's not-owch. What?" Hide looked beside him, where a red kagune was slithering.

"Your kagune came out, Hide."

"Yes, I can see that, Kaneki," Hide tried to put it back.

"WHOA, WHAT THE F*CK, DUDE?!!"

"You don't force it back with your hands, Hide."

"I'm still not used to this thing, okay, Kaneki? Give me a break, it has its own mind."

"Then control it like you control me, Hide."

-_-'

"That's not how it works, Kaneki. Ah! Finally! Why did it poke me like that?"

"Because you wanted it to poke you."

"I did not want it to poke me, Kaneki."

"Kagune are nice sex tools."

"Kaneki, you need to get sex off the mind."

"Okay."

"Sorry about that, I only just recently found out that I'm a half-ghoul, so..."

._.

"RED ALERT, GHOUL ON THE PREMISES!!" Hashiga yelled.

"Calm down, you idiot," Ichi snarled, "The CCG is fully aware of both of their species! But, don't expect me not to report that your little friend there threatened to cut off some hands with his kagune, and don't expect me not to report that you took your kagune out."

"The CCG is fully aware that I cannot control my kagune yet as well, Ichi ni sun."

"What."

"Sorry, that just came out. I don't even know what I meant by that. 'Ichi ni sun'."

"Keep your kagune under wraps, Nagachika. I may be in the Intelligence Division, but I still have a quinque because I used to be in the other Division. So, I will not hesitate to kill you and the Eyepatch there."

"I don't have my eyepatch."

"...What the h*ll is wrong with him?"

Sigh..

"A lot, man, you have no idea.."


	5. A Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Experimenter is a jerk to Hide. Seriously, she deserves to die.

"Nagachika-kun, please put the human stomach acids in the mixture," Izumi-san requested.

"Have you guys tried taste buds yet?" I dropped the stomach acids into the mixture.

"What."

"Taste buds," I looked up at the only female member in our group. "The ingredients we've been using, we're focusing on the ghoul's ability to eat human food rather than the taste and smell. If the ghoul doesn't like the taste or smell, he or she won't eat the food, whether he or she is able to or not. So we have to focus on the taste and ability to eat simultaneously, and while the smell isn't completely needed, the smell is a big part of whether a ghoul will even try it or not, never mind how it's been scientifically proven to affect taste. So we should focus on that as well."

"... Don't act like you're so smart, newbie. You're even a ghoul, so why should I trust you? We follow the ingredient list we're given. Hashiga, get us some RC cells please."

"Got it, boss," Koumano ran off.

"Hey, Ichi, is Nagachika the ghoul we'll be testing on from now on? Or will we be testing on Kaneki Ken?" Taiga inquired. He was sitting on the floor with his arms back.

"..." Hide frowned, "Narino-san, I thought I told you to get off the floor- that's dangerous. I've blown up things before, you know."

"That's because you're stupid and not meant to be an experimenter, Nagachika."

"Will you please stop insulting me?"

"Narino, the CCG made a deal with Nagachika here. So no, you will not be giving our product to either one of them. They will go to the ghouls on death row."

"...Hide, can I smash this guy's face in?"

"Someone has to try the product, Kaneki. Before, I was just giving these to random ghouls on the street that tried to attack me. So no, you cannot smash his face in."

"Aw.. How about the witch?"

"Do not call people witches, Kaneki. And while she is getting on my nerves too, we just have to deal with it. She's a coworker."

"But she keeps insulting you."

"And Narino-san just asked if we were going to get the product. No, Kaneki, we will not be hurting anyone here, no matter what they do."

"Is it bad? Is the product bad?"

"We don't know what it'll do to the ghoul, so it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Oh.."

"Act as if it's going to kill the ghoul. Or make it go completely insane. That's what I always do."

"Hm.."

"Nagachika-kun, how many grams of stomach acid did you put in the mixture?"

"Huh? I estimated it."

Crash!

"This is exactly why you shouldn't be an experimenter!"

"Ah! Y-You got me all wet! What is this stuff?!" Hide brought his arm up to his nose and smelled it. "Oh my G*d, is this the stomach acid?!!"

"Hmph!"

I took off my shirt and pants, "Oh my f*cking G*d, Kaneki, get a towel, something! If this stays on my skin, I'll get hurt! Uh, Kaneki?"

"That was very impolite, Izumi-san!" Sagaru-san shouted in dismay, handing me a towel.

"Thank you, Sagaru-san!" I started wiping it off my skin first.

"Eek!"

"Huh?" I looked up, handing the towel to Sagaru-san. "Oh my G*d, Kaneki!"

"YOU BREAK RULES; NEVER HURT MASTER, YOU SELFISH B*TCH! NARCISSIST!"

"Kaneki, Kaneki, Kaneki, what have I said about using your kagune to shove centipedes up people's ears?!!" I pulled Kaneki's tentacles off of my new coworker. "Just because she poured acid on me does not mean you need to hurt her! She's only human- she won't heal quickly like Ryou and everyone else!"

"She hurt Hide! I kill her!"

"Oh my G*d, Kaneki, you cannot just say that in a workplace! I'll get fired! You'll get killed! Both of us - and the rest of Anteiku - will be mercilessly murdered!"

"Then I kill them too!"

"What happened to your grammar, Kaneki?!! Just calm down!! I should not be calming you down right now, Kaneki! I need to clean myself off! So sit. There."

Kaneki's lip shuddered as he gave me a puppy dog look, "Okay, Hide.. I'm sorry."

"Thank you," I heaved a heavy sigh and checked my shoes and socks.

"Um, Nagachika-san?"

"Yea, Sagaru-san?"

"You have some on your neck. Should I clean it up?" he held the towel up.

"No! I clean Hide!"

"Now, now, Kaneki."

Kaneki frowned, "Right, I'm sorry, Ma-Hide.. You have other lovers."

"Wh-Ka-I do not have other lovers, Kaneki, just calm down. He's just going to clean my neck. Yea, thanks, Sagaru-san. Uh, Sagaru-san?" I blinked. He was blushing like crazy.

Narino-san stood up, "Don't worry about him, he's just an in-the-closet gay," he took the towel from Sagaru-san and started to wipe me down.

I noticed he was moving down my chest, "U-Uh, Narino-san, I think you got it all."

He looked up at me. The towel was about to touch my nether regions. His eyes held a dark look, but it wasn't anger or anything. More like.. seduction?!!

He smirked, "Okay, Mister Master." He rose.

"You're gay."

"Sure am. You just realized?"

"But.. you were.. making fun of.."

"Nah, I just like to tease those who are embarrassed about it," he shrugged, the smirk still present on his face, "'cept Yuki, he's different. Too innocent to tease," he elbowed said bluenette, and Yuki started to fall. His face was still all steamy, and I don't think he was processing anything. Narino-san caught him, "Yeah, I guess I'll take him out. Have your little pet do the recordings for him, yeah? And I should be back before testing."

"... I had no idea he was gay. He seemed like one of those player types."

"He is a player, you idiot," Ichi-san glared at me. "A gay player. He's harassed Koumano before."

"...Were you harassed by him?"

"THAT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!! I AM-"

"OH MY F*CKING G*D, WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES, DUDE?!!" Koumano-san screamed in shock.

"Right here," I pointed to my clothes on the floor.

"WHAT THE h*LL HAPPENED WHILE I WAS GONE?!! WHERE IS YUKI AND THE JERK?!!"

"Narino-san took Sagaru-san ... out."

"? Yuki fainted again? Is it because you took your clothes off?"

"No, it's because Kaneki here called him my lover."

"...But I thought you two were dating."

"It's complicated. But I don't think we're dating yet.." I looked at Kaneki.

"?"

-w-

"It's complicated," I nodded.

"So? What went down?"

"I realized Izumi-san is a worse jerk than I thought. And Kaneki had a fit because of it."

"? .." something seemed to click in his brain, "Oh, she spilled something on you, didn't she?"

"She threw a beaker at me. Luckily, I'm a ghoul, so the glass didn't hurt me and just.. fell to the floor. Be careful."

"O..kay. I can see that going down badly. I'm surprised she's still alive with your 'bodyguard'."

"He tried."

"...Dude, he has some serious issues."

"I know. We're working on it."

"What exactly happened over here?" Koujimaku-san glared.

Oh, I didn't realize he was here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be going to Open House soon. ...
> 
> Help ;u;
> 
> Save me
> 
> Spare me
> 
> Pray.
> 
> Please.
> 
> School is tomorrow, and this is the first year I've been worried about the first day of school.
> 
> Last year was the first year I didn't enjoy school. ... and the quarter before that. So yay, I'm normal now. And I even laugh at people getting scolded.
> 
> ...
> 
> ;u;
> 
> Seriously, help me
> 
> This bully and insanity thing is really getting to me.
> 
> And I am praying to God I won't have bullies this year. That it'll be a smooth year like last year.
> 
> ... But the damage was still done.
> 
> I mean, come on, I'm harsh now. I plan on avoiding people. I laughed when a bully was being scolded (finally) by the substitute when he was talking inappropriately.
> 
> And I felt awkward because for the first time ever, no one laughed when someone was being scolded.
> 
> Is it one of those things where there are different standards for different people?
> 
> The room was like crickets.
> 
> My laughter slowly died down as I realized no one else was laughing.
> 
> So awkward.
> 
> I realized my angel side was being infected by my demon side.
> 
> Will I be okay?
> 
> Oh, who am I kidding.
> 
> I know I won't be okay.
> 
> I've never been okay since the time I was introduced to masturbation.
> 
> WHY ARE HUMANS SO FOUL?


	6. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically Kaneki and Hide get in trouble; Hide and Ken go to the infirmary's to get Hide some clothes. And then Izumi is let off free while Hide and Ken will be punished.  
> OR AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK, BUT A MYSTERIOUS PERSON HAS JUST APPEARED TO CHANGE THE ODDS!!!

"Father. The Eyepatch ghoul attacked Izumi-san."

The man stared at Kaneki in a threatening manner.

"Are you kidding me right now, Ichi-san?!! I know Kaneki is way more dangerous than Izumi-san and everything, but she tHREW A BEAKER OF HUMAN STOMACH ACID AT ME! She should've known that's how Kaneki would react! He's been threatening people just for the slightest thing!"

"She hurt Hide! She deserves to die!"

I put my arm in front of Kaneki, "Kaneki, calm down, I will deal with this. This is MY workplace. Ichi-san, it was Izumi-san's fault. I'm surprised Kaneki didn't just rip her head off for that. We HAVE to be careful around Kaneki, even me. And if she doesn't know that by the way Kaneki keeps threatening people, maybe she should learn the hard way if that's what she needs! We are coworkers, and therefore, we should respect each other and try to get along. But instead of that, she's been insulting me constantly and just being plain rude!

"And Koujimaku-san, if you need proof, why do you think I only have my boxers, socks, and shoes? Why do you think there's glass all over the floor? Izumi-san could've seriously hurt me! Test the liquid on my clothes if you wish! But the proof-"

"I don't NEED to test anything. We have video cameras."

"..Oh. Oh, that's.. that's smart."

"So, I'll just take a quick look at that. In the meantime, Nagachika," he glared, "get. Dressed."

"That was my only pair of clothes!"

"I'll give you my clothes, Hide. It's indecent for you to walk around when you have a lover."

"Kaneki, I don't need that- then you'd be in the nude."

"But I'm just a pet. It's fine if people degrade me."

"Kaneki, seriously, that man gave you some SERIOUS self-esteem issues. That you need to solve. I don't want you walking around in the nude, and neither does anyone else."

"But your muscles, Hide-"

"Kaneki, I don't have any muscles like you, and anyway, they've already seen mine. What is the point of putting your clothes on and having them all see both of us?"

"... Ohhh.."

"Stop bickering with your pet and get dressed, Nagachika. And DON'T use your stupid pet's clothes."

"'Wasn't planning on it, sir."

He walked away, and I sighed.

"He is like a Tension Machine."

"Should I exterminate him, Hide?"

"What? G*d, no!"

"Oh.."

"Anyway, I guess I ought to go get dressed. I'll go to the infirmary. They should have extra clothes. Kaneki, come with me."

"Of course, Hide," Ken followed him like a pet.

"I wonder if we'll bump into Narino-san and Sagaru-san on the way," I absently commented, "They were going to the infirmary, right?" I took a turn.

"I believe so, Hide. Why, do you want to f*ck them?"

"What?! No!!" I sputtered.

"? It is perfectly natural to want someone, Hide. Don't let me stop you- I'm just one of your pets after all."

"DUDE, I AM NOT INTO THEM, OKAY?!!"

"?"

"Ah, never mind," I sighed. Eventually, we reached the infirmary.

"Hello, do you need somethi-OH MY G*D, WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?!!"

"Yea.. I got stomach acid all over them. Can I have some new clothes?"

"What? How are you so clumsy that you got stomach acid all over yourself?" she went into another room, and we followed. She was fumbling around in a tote.

"Actually, someone else threw it at me."

"What'd you do to p*ss them off?"

"... Honestly, nothing really. I think it was just the fact that I'm smarter than her, better than her, and I could probably replace her as the Experimenter."

The nurse glanced at me with the chuckle, "Well, with an attitude like that, I guess that's why she threw it at you. But I would assume she has anger issues. What size are you?"

"Large for both."

"Then, this should fit," she held up an outfit. "Want to try it on?"

"Sure."

"Hide did nothing wrong, you bi-"

"Now, now, Kaneki. Let's be civilized. What have I told you about my workplace rules?"

"...D-Don't speak.." he moped.

"I said don't threaten or insult people, but if that's how you take it, I guess that's fine too. You don't seem to know how to speak civilized anymore. But, he's right, ma'am. I tried my best to be polite while she insulted me right and left," I took the outfit, murmuring thanks, "She appeared to have perceived my suggestions as an insult of some sort. I guess she can't take constructive criticism." I walked into the bathroom with Kaneki close in tow.

"Um, maybe you should stay out here-"

"It's fine," I told the nurse, "We've already seen each other, and I'd like to supervise him. He says things without thinking, you see, and it could cost our lives, never mind my job."

"...I.. see.."

Kaneki closed and locked the door behind us, and I got dressed.

"It fits nicely," I told her when I came out.

"Good. I'm glad. Also, who was it that threw stomach acid at you exactly?"

"It was Miyako Izumi," Narino-san walked out of another room.

"Ohh so this is your new Experimenter then, Narino-kun?"

"Yeah. This is Hideyoshi Nagachika, Sako. Nagachika, this is Sako Satumi, one of this building's nurses."

Satumi-san chuckled, "Izumi-san is bright, talented, and has lots of potential, but she certainly has quite the temper. I don't understand why she's still in the Intelligence Division when she should be taking out her anger on ghouls, not experiments and the sort."

"She'd probably have a fit if someone suggested that to her. And anyway, I think Ichi has a crush on her, so he probably gets his father to convince the higher ups to keep her there. Unfortunately. I'd much rather have Nagachika here than her. One time, she got into it with me because I gave the experiment wrong or something. That was a total mess."

"Ah yes, I remember that. Sagaru-kun carried you here with Koumano-kun's help, and the young Koujimaku carried Izumi-san with some injuries of his own."

"It wasn't fair. That a**hole used a quinque against me, and I was already weakened slightly from fighting with Izumi. And I got suspended for it!! Even though she was the one who started it! So ridiculous. I swear, that Ichi has no brain when it comes to Izumi."

"Yes, well, sometimes the system is corrupt."

"Nee, why were you curious of who threw stomach acid at me?" I spoke up.

"Ah, well, clearly anyone who throws stomach acid at another person shouldn't be in possession of stomach acid or any other dangerous liquids, but if it's Izumi-san, there's not much I can do unfortunately. All making a complaint would do would make things worse."

"Oh.."

"That's no problem, because I can kill her, right, Hide?"

"No, Kaneki."

She blinked, "Clearly your friend there shouldn't be possessing dangerous liquids either."

"Oh, don't worry about that, he won't touch it.-"

"It could potentially harm me. I don't trust doctors."

"-He has kagune for that, which he should not be using," I emphasized at Kaneki.

"She hurt you and revealed your sweet body to everyone. She deserves a punishment."

"Kaneki, not everybody gets a punishment when they do something bad, okay?"

"That's stupid."

"...Kaneki, seriously. That a**hole really messed you up good."

"Which a**hole? Are you upset with me for f*cking Hidei's a**hole because I thought he was you?"

"Kaneki, stop, no."

"Or maybe you're unhappy because I only gave your a**hole my kagune while I fed Hidei's a**hole my d*ck."

"Oh my G*d, Kaneki, stop, stop right now."

"Okay, Hide. But are you sure you're not unhappy with me?"

"I'm unhappy with your late Master, Kaneki."

"Oh.."

.

.

.

"But, what a**hole?"

-_-'

"I'm using the context of a jerk. Your Master was an a**hole."

"Oh, that makes sense. Master did have a butt hole, but I didn't ever go in there, Hide. He went in-"

"Okay, stop, Kaneki, seriously, I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear about what you did with that a**hole. It's disgusting."

"...Sorry, Hide." I felt a vibe of sadness from him, but I ignored it. I was so sick of Kaneki talking about sex all the time..

"Anyway," I sighed, running a hand through my hair, "Let's go back. Koujimaku-san probably already looked at the footage."

"Okay, Hide."

"I'd come with, but Yuki's still unconscious."

"Yeah," I waved. "Thanks, Satumi-san. See you later, Narino-san."

"Bye, Nagachika."

"G-Good..bye?"

Looks like Kaneki freaked the nurse out. Oh well.. Nothing we can do about that now.

\--------------------------

Koujimaku-san had his arms crossed, his finger tapping his arm impatiently. He looked very unhappy.

"Sorry we're la-"

"How can getting dressed take so long?"

Urgh. Whelp, no mercy for us. Our punishment will be worse..

"I'm sorry, the nurse was inquiring about what happened."

"Well, whatever. I looked at the footage, and I decided that Kaneki Ken be punished for his actions."

"..." {Hide}

"!!" {Ken}

"Why? He's unstable; we all know that. Izumi-san attacked me even knowing that Kaneki would react very badly to that. She went in head first, completely aware of Kaneki's insanity and hastiness/impulsiveness. It was her fault. I'm sorry, Koujimaku-san, but she was clearly in the wrong, and you can't blame Kaneki for reacting badly. I stopped him from endangering her, didn't I? No harm done. Don't punish him for-"

"Only Hide can punish me, you-"

I put my arm in front of Kaneki, "-being broken. What he needs is healing, kindness, compassion. Not the brutality he's so used to- that's what injured him to this point in the first place."

"Nagachika, you were also very aware that the agreement was that you and the people we're pardoning on your behalf cannot hurt anyone at all, or the deal is invalid."

"Kaneki didn't hurt anybody. I stopped him before he did."

The man glared at me, "No excuses. Kaneki Ken almost injured Izumi Miyako. That is inexcusable."

"He almost hurt her as a defense mechanism. That's how Kaneki is currently wired. If someone almost or does injure his Master, he is to hurt - and even murder - the culprit. That's his duty. It's revenge, but at the same time, he thinks anyone who almost or does hurt me once will definitely pursue to injure me again. So it's a protective mechanism. It wasn't his fault that he went to injure Izumi-san, not when that's how he was taught. I am working on getting him to act appropriately, but that will take lots and lots of time. It will take integrating him back in society. In the meantime, everyone else needs to stay clear of Kaneki and not irritate or punish him. He is merely here for me to watch over. He won't cause any problem if nobody causes a problem."

"You expect me to just ignore this incident? Not a chance."

"Well, let me ask you, are you punishing Izumi-san for throwing stomach acid at me?"

"No, she is not nearly as dangerous as you two."

"Exactly. You're not punishing her, so why would you punish Kaneki? I could've gotten some severe acid burns from what she did. And don't tell me she's not as dangerous as Kaneki or me. She's more dangerous than me because I have a hold on my anger, unlike her. I may have kagune, but she has her own weapons at her disposal. And Kaneki's a different case because he's mentally ill. Since Izumi-san doesn't have any mental issues, she should be able to express herself in an appropriate manner. She shouldn't be causing problems for no reason. She shouldn't be getting angry and fighting for no reason. Kaneki is reigned in by me; I keep him from making problems. But who is keeping her from injuring others, hm? She's even more dangerous than Kaneki because no one is keeping her from injuring someone."

"Whoaaa this b*tch has got some serious comebacks! I'm glad Yuki woke up, so I didn't miss this!" Narino-san interrupted the tense atmosphere. Yuki was behind him. "You go, man, that b*tch needs to get her a** handed to her. She needs to learn her place."

"I agree with you, Narino-san," Kaneki commented, "I have a new found respect for you."

"Thanks, man. Glad you're rethinking killing me."

{Kaneki: I didn't say that.

Narino: ...}

"I think I am accepting the fact that Hide wants to have sex with you."

"Whoa, wait, what? Dude, you want to have sex with me?"

"Kaneki, I have told you a million times, I'm not into him like that!!"

"It's okay, Hide, I can share your c*ck."

"DUDE, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO GET YOU TO UNDERSTAND?"

"You don't have to be ashamed. A master needs many pets."

"He's not my pet!!!"

"Okay, now I'm confused. Nagachika, do you LIKE me?"

"No!!"

"Oh. Alright."

"...Regardless of Nagachika's love interests, Kaneki Ken was in the wrong, and Izumi-san was not. You, also, were in the wrong, Nagachika."

"Hah? For what?"

"For suggesting to alter the experiment. I explained to you beforehand that you would follow the directions handed to you."

"Hah?!! But then it's just like making a product!! I'm not doing any experimenting! And there are less brains working on their own solution of their own ways! Therefore, there is less of a chance to succeed! And besides, your way is bullsh*t! I'm sorry, but seriously? Focusing on the ability to eat human food, then adapting that to taste, and then adapting that to smell?!! It'd be so much easier - waste so much less time - to just focus on all of the components at once! I-"

"Alright, that's enough," a stern voice spoke. The holder furrowed her eyes dangerously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, I'm horrible ;w;
> 
> Who is this mysterious person who practically has no reason to be here?!! Find out~!! But warning: you won't find out why she's here I don't think haha. I have no idea why she's here ;w;


	7. Defensive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Stomach Acid Incident (SAI) is solved, but a new problem arises when an irritable Hide tries to sleep on the bed in the changing room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess whaaaaaat~?!! Hahaha, you guys will be so excited for this! So, I made goals in English today, and one of my goals was to finish this specific story by the end of the semester.
> 
> Oh my ghouls, what have I done? (just now punched in the face with how far off the ending is in this story and how it is nearly impossible to achieve)

"Koujimaku, Nagachika here was the one who initially started these experiments. You do know this, right? He has probably been working on this for a far longer time than us.-" {Mado}

"Since I found out Kaneki became a ghoul, so yea." {Hide}

Mado-san gave me a quick glare for interrupting her, "-He has probably done trial and error more times than he can count." I had gotten the message from Mado-san's glare, so I didn't affirm anything this time. "He's been thinking of this for months, so he probably already compared the options, and in terms of intelligence, I believe Nagachika is better than you, especially when it comes to ghoul matters like this. And I do believe you were instructed to follow Nagachika's path and notes. Which included focusing on all components rather than just one at a time." {Mado}

"Grrr..!" {Miyako or Koujimaku. Possibly even Ichi but that's unlikely. I think it's Koujimaku, looking at the rest of this.}

"Additionally, hasn't it already been requested that Miyako Izumi here was transferred? What happened to that request? I thought this group had no experimenter. Nagachika was to be the sole experimenter in the group supervised by your son." {Mado}

"I did not see any reason to switch Izumi-san." {Koujimaku}

"Is that so? And why did Nagachika have an issue with Izumi Miyako?" Mado-san looked at me, giving me the incentive to speak. {Mado}

"She threw stomach acid on me," I said simply.

"Ah. That there is enough reason to fire her. I was wondering why the patient Nagachika had gotten irritated with someone. She's a danger in the workplace, and therefore, I will make it so that she will never be in this type of work ever again." {Mado}

"Wha--?!!" Ichi-san, Izumi-san, and Koujimaku-san were all shocked. {Ichi, Izumi, and Koujimaku I assume.}

"WOHO! THIS B*TCH DOES NOT TAKE ANYONE'S BULLSH*T!" Narino-san got a glare from Mado-san for his comment. "Sorry. Forgive me." {Narino Taiga.}

"Hold on, am I missing something? Do you even have that power, Mado-san?" {Hide}

"I am the supervisor of this line of research. I plan to finish up the ghouls me and Amon have in the 20th Ward before I go full-time. So yes, I am in a higher position than Koujimaku here." {Mado}

"Whoa, seriously?"

"I have a newfound respect for this woman, Hide."

"That's great, Kaneki. Thanks, Mado-san; I really appreciate it."

"It's purely my duty to make sure things go smoothly. Izumi Miyako should've been transferred a while ago, for she is a danger to the workplace."

"You got that right. To herself and others. She almost got herself killed there."

"Killing her is still an option, Hide. Just say the word."

"No, Kaneki, killing is not an option; please reunderstand that already."

"It does not matter, Hide. If you want her dead, I can do so."

"Kaneki. Please. I don't want you to kill her, okay?"

"Okay.. just keep it in mind."

"...Kaneki.. seriously."

"But.. with Izumi's mistake in mind.. Nagachika, you also should be keeping Kaneki in better check."

I frowned, "I'm trying my best, Mado-san. I can't help his mouth right now- actions take priority."

"Hide talks in his sleep," Kaneki declared, "Mouths are hard to quiet."

"...That's very helpful, Kaneki." His cheeks flushed ever so slightly, and he looked down.

"I-I'm glad I could be of use.."

"..."

Mado-san sighed, "Whatever. Just be quick about it. It's clearly already causing issues."

"Hai! I'm sorry."

Mado-san turned to Izumi-san, "Izumi Miyako, you will no longer work in this research line. You're fired."

"Wha--?!! And what about those two stupid ghouls?!!"

"DON'T CALL HIDE STUPID!" Kaneki started to charge, but I held him back.

"Ahahaha," I chuckled nervously, "Calm down, Kaneki."

"For your information, Izumi, Nagachika here is the reason this line of research was even opened. He's very intelligent, intuitive, fast, and strong. He's useful to the CCG, so we're using him. Simple as that."

"And if you think I'd let the CCG catch me or anyone I care about without a fight, you're dead wrong," I added, "Even if the CCG did catch me, they would find that I'd escaped soon after. I'm sneaky. It's easier on everyone just to make a deal with me."

"Hide is smart. And he's good in bed."

"...Thank you for your input, Kaneki."

"You're welcome, Hide."

"..."

"Besides, part of our deal is for the ghouls Nagachika is acquainted with not to kill or cause problems in general."

"Ghouls shouldn't be in the CCG!"

"Nagachika used to be human, and he's even more useful now than when he was human."

"Just give it up, Izumi. She's the boss of this- what she says, goes. Besides, you're not fit for this work," Narino-san tried to reason with her.

"Hmph! Fine! This line of work is useless anyway!" she stomped off.

"? If she doesn't like this line of work, why was she in it?" I looked at Narino-san.

"Duh, it pays super well. It's why most of us are here. Since most probably wouldn't want to work towards a way for ghouls to eat something other than flesh, they have to make it high pay, or nobody would do it. Although you're different."

"? How am I different? Because I have a best friend that's a ghoul?"

"Duh, because you're a ghoul?" he seemed confused.

"But I worked on this before I was a ghoul."

"...right.. um.. then I don't know. I have no idea why you wanted to do this."

"?"

"Well, since this issue is solved," Mado-san pushed her hair behind her ear, "Koujimaku, a word please." He followed Mado-san out of the huge room, grumbling.

"Whew. Hear that, Kaneki?" I nudged his arm with a playful smirk, "No more stomach acid being thrown at people. What a relief, yeah?"

"I still wish to decapitate her."

"...Kaneki, don't say that."

"What does decapitate mean?" Narino-san looked at Sagaru-san.

"It means to behead. Or in even simpler terms, he wants to take her head off." {Sagaru Yuki}

"Oh."

"Yes, quite gruesome."

The day followed with barely any problems (although Ichi-san was quite irritated).

\-----------------------------

Plop!

"WHEW!"

"Hard day?" Dai-Shun untied his apron. He and the others were working at Anteiku now.

"Yeah. Try having stomach acid thrown at you."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Takumi also untied his apron.

"Definitely. If you leave it on for too long, you could get burnt or something," I stared at the ceiling. "But luckily, that hazardous experimenter is gone now." {... You know.. I don't like.. how Hide refers to the Seven by their first name.. but he still refers Ken as Kaneki.. and Touka, too.. Why..? Is it because Ken's so shy..? I don't like it. Hide is much closer to Kaneki than Touka or the Seven. Oh well I suppose.}

"Hide, do you want to have sex?"

"No, Kaneki."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kaneki."

"Okay."

I was trying to be patient with Kaneki. I really was. But G*d d*mn it, that guy had messed him up good. Seriously, I wish he would stop saying inappropriate things.

I have to watch him closely and take that b*st*rd's place as his Master, just until Kaneki can walk on his own two feet. And I'll be a good Master, unlike that b*st*rd.

It's just really hard to be patient nowadays. I'm hurt, too. I'm damaged. I should be recovering.

But with Kaneki's faults, I just don't have room. I have to wait on that. In the meantime, I just have to deal with not being as happy and patient as I normally am.

I rolled on my side, closing my eyes.

Not even a few seconds later, I felt warmth on my back.

"Kaneki."

"Yes, Hide?"

"I'd like to be alone please."

"Oh. Oh, okay." His warmth left.

Ryou scoffed, "You should've thought about that before you decided to rest on the bed in the changing room. Even though they have a bed in here, which is really f*cking weird, does not mean it's sleeping material. Get the f*ck off." I looked back and glared at him.

"Do not speak to Hide that way, Ryou," Kaneki stepped in front of Ryou, glaring, I bet.

"I thought I told you to call me 'Ryou-sama'," he scowled back. I groaned and put the pillow over my head.

"I am not in the mood to deal with this!! F*ck off each other!"

"Hmph! With this a**hole how he is, you need to watch him CONSTANTLY! That means you can't sleep when he isn't! Idiot! It's still daytime, so get the f*ck off!" He got a pillow to his face (courtesy of yours truly).

"F*ck. Off." {Hide}

"Oi. Stop bickering like a newly wed couple," Touka glared between all of us. "And Hide, you look like a crazed baboon- sleep in the guest room." I groaned and plopped back on the bed.

"Why do you have a bed in here then~~~~~?!!"

"We decided to do that after we got seven new waiters and two freeloaders."

"WE ARE NOT FREELOADERS!" I shot up and screamed at her.

F*ck. I really am irritable.

Even with this knowledge, I couldn't stop myself.

"I COULD GO TELL THE CCG EASILY TO F*CK ANTEIKU OVER! YOU'D HAVE AN ENTIRE ARMY ON YOUR HANDS! AND DON'T THINK YOU CAN F*CKING BEAT THE ENTIRE F*CKING CCG!"

Touka's kakugan flared, "You wanna fight, bleached blonde?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, I'm going to try to focus on this story. It'll be my main one. Just because of my English goal and stuff.


	8. Get Me a Pack of Uno!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically everyone plays a game, and then Hide is really stressed.  
> Haha I was gonna call this 'Not Enough', but I'm sorry; I just love that quote so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: HEYO~!!! WE'RE BACK WITH THE PLAYS~!! FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN!!-
> 
> Kree: (kicks me out) No, let ME explain, you ignorant author.
> 
> Uni: (pushes blackboard behind Kree)
> 
> Kree: (points to blackboard with stick she got from nowhere) There are normally two types of plays: Beginning Plays and Ending Plays. Occasionally, the Idiot comes up with a random play in the middle of the f*cking chapter.
> 
> me (from trash bin): DON'T CUSS!!
> 
> Kree: (points to innocent picture of me on blackboard) Now, these Plays began when Fire was just a wee, ignorant, little writer on fanfiction.net - not that she isn't ignorant now of course. Back then, she was writing fanfictions for an anime called Gakuen Alice.
> 
> Natsume: Yo. She doesn't own GA, of course.
> 
> Kree: Would you like to take it from here, Natsume, 3rd Member of the Fire Hate Club?
> 
> me (still in the trash bin): I TOLD YOU TO DISBAND THAT!
> 
> Natsume: Sure (takes stick from Kree) My name is Natsume Hyuuga, and I'm from Gakuen Alice. I was the first character in Fire's miserable Plays. Normally, there are two characters to begin with: Fire and a main character from the series she's creating a fanfic of. Since we're already in Chapter 7 of this miserable series-
> 
> me (still calling from the trash bin): STOP CALLING MY STUFF MISERABLE!
> 
> Natsume: -it doesn't f*cking matter.-
> 
> me: STOP CUSSING ALREADY!! AND SERIOUSLY, DID YOU LOCK THIS THING? I CAN'T GET OUT!
> 
> Uni: (smirks, holding a key)
> 
> Kree: (smirks)
> 
> Natsume: -In each Play, a new character is normally gained - and only one. Normally. It's quite random and utterly pointless. Fire thinks it's funny. In some Plays, there are characters from other series, like Kree and Uni, who are OCs.
> 
> Kree and Uni: But she doesn't own us (furrows eyes)
> 
> Rage: But you're still HER characters. Don't confuse the readers.
> 
> Kree: Rage. Are you betraying the Fire Hate Club?
> 
> Rage: I'm merely on the side of intelligence, Kree. I'm not betraying the Club.
> 
> Kree: Hmph.
> 
> Kree, Uni, Rage, and Natsume: The Beginning Play is out.
> 
> me: WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT SAYING THAT WITHOUT ME?!! CAN YOU GET ME OUT OF HERE ALREADY?!!
> 
> Uni: (throws away key with a smirk)
> 
> -Beginning Play Out-

Yoshimura-san had intervened and stopped our brawl before it could happen. Now I had slept though, so I was in a better mood.

Now I was playing a game with Kaneki. I'd have to focus on things like this, to help Kaneki.

"Go fish."

I drew another card.

"Um.. do you have any sevens, Hide?"

"Nope. Go fish."

Unfortunately, Kaneki wasn't branching out. Shun, Takumi, Hiroshi, Michi, Kenta, Reidon, Ryou, Touka-chan, Hinami-chan, Nishio-senpai, and Yoshimura-san were all playing with us, but Kaneki hadn't asked them once.

Maybe we should play the version where you ask the group as a whole.

But I was planning Uno next.

I picked up my phone as Shun asked Takumi. No new messages.

"Hide," Kaneki interrupted Shun midway.

"Mm?" I looked up at him.

"You keep looking at your phone. Is something wrong?"

"? Ah, no, I was just checking if I had any new messages."

"Are you expecting a text from someone?"

"Well, I texted my friends from the CCG earlier. They haven't-"

Ding-dong~

"?" we all looked at the door. We were at our place which we had gotten recently. Kaneki, Ryou, Reidon, Kenta, Michi, Hiroshi, Takumi, Shun, and I all lived here. I stood up to get the door.

"Ah! Narino-san, Sagaru-san. You didn't reply."

"Yo," Narino-san waved, "'Hope we're not intruding?"

"Have you already started without us?" Sagaru-san inquired, trying to look over my shoulder. "I was going to reply, but Taiga arrived at my house to pick me up."

"I have a car. Yuki doesn't. By the way, don't expect Ichi to arrive, and Hashiga takes a while to get ready," Narino-san walked past me.

"Ah."

"You invited these people, Hide?" Kaneki was staring up at me as we settled in, "You do love them, don't you?"

"What? Kaneki, no. But yes, I did invite them. More people, the better. Besides, you should get used to all of these people," I dealt Narino-san and Sagaru-san cards.

"You guys already have some sets," Narino-san observed, "'Puts us at a disadvantage."

"I texted you guys when we left Anteiku. You should've had enough time."

"I had to finish up my laundry before I left, and Taiga went to my house."

"Who exactly did you invite to our house, Hide?" Ryou glared at me.

"My coworkers and ex-coworkers. This is Narino Taiga," I gestured to Narino-san and then Sagaru-san, "And this is Sagaru Yuki."

"Nice to meet you," Sagaru-san nodded his head in bow.

"Yo," Narino-san leaned back a little.

"And Narino-san, Sagaru-san, you already know Kaneki. This is Touka Kirishima, Kuzen Yoshimura, Hinami Furguchi, Nishiki Nishio, Ryou Itsuwaru- don't call him Hidei -, {I don't think I made last names for the rest of them, so} Reidon Zeto, Kenta Hatomi, Michi Konaru, Hiroshi Sora, Takumi Morimu, and finally, Shun Tomai," I gestured to each as I said their names. "Just so we're clear, they're all ghouls."

"Of course," Narino-san nodded. Sagaru-san frowned slightly, a little uncomfortable. Narino-san noticed this and wrapped his arm around Sagaru-san's shoulders, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Sagaru-san's cheeks flushed slightly, "I-I don't need protection.. They should be gentle. They must not be dangerous if the CCG isn't apprehending them."

I glanced at the ghouls, "Um, I think you're a little confused, Sagaru-san. All of the ghouls here have the potential to be dangerous. Even little Hinami-chan. But we choose not to. Well, as long as we have a handle on our anger. Nishio-senpai over there kicked me and barfed on me once."

Sagaru-san stared in horror.

"YOU WERE AWAKE, YOU LITTLE B*TCH!"

"I consider my ability to fake unconsciousness and even foaming a talented gift," I crossed my arms.

"I can properly punish Nishio-senpai now. Should I do so, Hide?"

"No, Kaneki. We're all friends here, remember?"

"I am your pet."

"..."

"I am not on even standing with any of you."

"... Let's just play the game, Kaneki."

"Okay."

"Shun, it was your turn, right?" I turned to him.

"Auh. Takumi, threes."

"Ahg! You stealer," Takumi handed him a three.

"We're going counterclockwise," I told Narino-san and Sagaru-san.

"Gotcha."

"Okay."

The game continued.

\--------------------------------------

Seido-san was the next to arrive.

"Nagachika. Did you need something?" he didn't seem very happy. He'd probably dragged his feet the entire way here.

"Noh, but we're playing Go Fish. Wanna join?"

"... Nagachika, I think you've temporarily forgotten that you're a ghoul now."

"Pshaw. Don't let that stop you from a fun game of Go Fish!"

"... Nagachika.. I would really rather if I just-"

"I am not letting you skip out on this game," I pulled him in, shutting the door behind him.

"I don't wanna play Go Fish with a bunch of ghouls!"

"And how do you know it's a bunch of ghouls?!"

Narino-san was snickering, his mouth covered my his hand.

\-----------------------------------

A little while later, the doorbell rang again, and I stood up once more to get it.

Mado-san and Amon-san were outside.

"You know I'm busy. Why did you request my presence before I was even finished with work?"

"Right, sorry, Mado-san, I forgot you work late. I didn't take that into account, not that I could've even if I had remembered, because I don't know your workload."

"Your message was quite vague, Nagachika. What did you need?"

"Ah, no, I don't need anything. We're playing Go Fish."

"You called us here.. for a game."

"Yep. If you don't see any value in it, I am trying to reteach Kaneki normal social skills," I walked back over and sat down, beginning to deal for two more people.

Amon-san sighed, "Akira's right, we have a lot of stuff that we could be doing.." They entered anyway and sat down to play. "I must say though, playing Go Fish with some ghouls is a first."

"Of course it is, you strict investigators," I dealt the last card.

Narino-san and Sagaru-san didn't ask Mado-san for any cards the entire game. The ghouls didn't ask any of the investigators (excluding me, Yoshimura-san, and Kaneki), but Hinami-chan specifically seemed wary of Mado-san.

Of course, Seido-san had needed insistence to ask each time until Mado-san and Amon-san arrived. Then he just asked them.

And Touka-chan, Nishio-senpai, and Hinami-chan just wouldn't ask Seido-san either.

\-------------------------

Koumano-san arrived literally two hours after I had texted him. We'd already gone through a round.

"Go Fish! My favorite," he grinned as he sat down.

"Dude, I bet you five bucks I'll win," Narino-san challenged him.

"I'll bet ten that I'LL beat YOU," Koumano-san challenged back.

"Taiga, you know Hashiga is the king of Go Fish. Take it back," Sagaru-san suggested warily.

"No. Way. I'll beat you this time, Hashiga. Ten bucks it is." Koumano-san smirked.

\----------------------------

In the end, the ranking was as followed:

Mado-san

Me

Kaneki

Yoshimura-san

Yomo-san

Koumano-san

Kenta

Reidon

Ryou

Narino-san

Hinami-chan

Michi

Shun

Touka-chan

Nishio-senpai

Amon-san

Hiroshi

Takumi

Seido-san

Sagaru-san

"Strange, I texted Juuzou and Shinohara-san," I glanced at my phone once more.

"Shinohara-san is probably busy with Juuzou." {Amon}

"WHA?!! HOW WAS I BEAT?!! I DEMAND A RECOUNT! OR YOU CHEATED!" {Koumano}

"DUDE, THAT CHICK IS CLEARLY THE QUEEN OF GO FISH! AND NAGACHIKA'S THE NEW KING! AND THE NUTTY ONE, THE OLD GUY, AND THE QUIET ONE ARE GOOD TOO!" {Narino}

"Tch! I didn't beat Hide or Kaneki." {Ryou}

"Haha, I beat you, Nishiki." {Touka}

"Grrr.." {Nishio}

"That was a fun game, wasn't it?" Yoshimura-san smiled.

"You're amazing, Hide." {Kaneki}

"Wow, I beat Onee-chan." {Hinami}

"Oh come on!! How come I'm at the bottom?! And I didn't beat Mado either.."

"Pretty fun though, huh?" I stacked up the cards. "You guys wanna play Uno now?"

They all complained. Seemed like they were pretty tired.

\--------------------------

We kept on having games like that after work (although sometimes some of them weren't there), and I saw real improvement in Kaneki.

Although Seido-san hadn't come once after that one time.

"? What are you doing, Takumi?" I looked over Takumi's shoulder. We recently got my computer back from the CCG (they'd looked at everything I had on it), but now Takumi was using it.

They do know it's my personal computer, right?

"None of your business," he murmured back.

"Actually, it is my business because that's MY computer you're using." He glared at me.

Regardless of his wishes, I started to read the screen.

"? Why are you on FaceMovie, Takumi?"

"Sh*t the h*ll up."

"..." I stared. My eyes saddened as I recognized the person whose profile he was on. "Takumi.. you should cut all ties. You know that. That means you shouldn't be doing this."

He gritted his teeth, "Like you're the boss of me."

"I'm not, but I am the boss of that computer, so get off. And it's a suggestion. You can choose to ignore, but you and I both know it's a fact you should hear and listen to. You could get hurt."

"Tch. It's my choice. You have no idea how much he meant to me. I'm worried about him."

"So you think talking to your parent anonymously is a good answer?"

"F*ck you. She posts a lot on her feed, so I get updates about Yuu-chan. I don't say anything. I don't even like anything. I don't do anything but look."

"And if you're caught, Takumi?"

"... You already have the CCG at bay. It'll be fine."

"Takumi, if you cause problems, the deal is off."

"Hmph. I'm merely checking up on my brother. Don't I have a right to? Mom made it sound like my status had really hurt him.. I was worried if there were any effects."

"You mean if he had anything like PTSD or some other mental illness from it."

"... Not.. not that severe.. I'm sure it's not that severe, if there is any.. effect."

"... Takumi, Kaneki meant - Kaneki means," I corrected myself with a shake of my head, "-a lot to me. When I got those videos, it scared me. A lot. And I tried my best to get him back."

"What are you trying to say? You still have Kaneki, so what does it matter? You don't understand what it's like to be-" he stopped when I gave him a dark glare.

"Don't EVER say I don't know what it's like to be away from the one you love. I know that feeling well. And I know how irresistible it is to try your best to follow them, track them down. That's not what I was trying to get across. For that, you should probably look to the others. I doubt they're trying to contact the person they're closest to."

"..."

"Anyway, what I was trying to say before you interrupted me was, and I know this is hard, but, clearly the people you all were close to.. didn't really care for you. For me, it didn't matter that Kaneki was a ghoul. I was that close to him. It didn't matter - it still doesn't matter - that he's mentally unstable and needs a lot of healing and time. "I know this is hard, but if your families didn't even try to look for you.. they clearly didn't care for you. And if they shunned you for being a ghoul - or even just for being kidnapped - then you should just forget about them because they don't care for you. It's only mutual. 'Their loss, too. You shouldn't associate with people who don't care for you. Simple matter of nature."

"... None of the people I hang around now care for me."

"... Takumi. I know maybe it doesn't feel like it, but we do value your feelings. We're the type of people you should be hanging around," I rubbed his back, "Even Kaneki. I know it really doesn't seem like it, but trust me. I know Kaneki better than anyone. And Anteiku wouldn't help you if they didn't care for you. Everyone you've been hanging around, we all care for you."

"..."

"If someone doesn't care for you - and you'll know, even if you try to deny it - then you should break it off. That is the one situation where you should break ties."

"And what about coworkers? Do your coworkers care for you?"

"... Most do, I think. I'm still alive, aren't I? But yeah, there are a few who don't care for me. In which case I don't get close to them, just as they non-verbally ask. ... Unfortunately, there are a few who don't like me anymore because of my new.. situation. But if they don't want me around.. I guess I'll just wait for them to adapt. Ghouls won't be feared or hated soon, Takumi," I put my hand on his shoulder, "We just need to wait."

"..."

"Now, will you please get off my computer?"

"..." he gave me an ill stare, but he left nonetheless.

\---------------------------------

"G*D D*MN IT, KANEKI, SH*T THE F*CK UP!!"

I groaned, wrapping my pillow around my head to block out the noises.

I was so sick of this. Every d*mn night too!

Kaneki didn't appear to even hear Ryou, just continuing to rut against the life-sized doll we'd made together a few days ago. (I couldn't sleep when he was rutting against me, as if the yelling and other noises weren't annoying enough, so I'd decided to make a doll of myself with him. Luckily, Kaneki hadn't rutted against me in the middle of the night since.)

But even if he was preoccupied with something that wasn't really me, that didn't mean I still didn't lose sleep over his.. activities.

The door slammed open with an angry, sleep-deprived Ryou. He stomped over.

"SH*T. THE F*CK. UP!" Ryou yanked the covers off us both. "!!" he was alarmed when I sat up.

But what was he expecting?

HE JUST. F*CKING. TOOK. MY. BLANKET.

HE IS SO GONNA BE 'PUNISHED' FOR THAT.

\-------------------------------------------

"I'm beginning to think maybe Hide and Kaneki should get their own place," the Rabbit skeptically squinted, "You guys keep coming in injured. Or at least, you do, Ryou."

"Call me Itsuwaru, you b*tch. Better yet, add an honorific. We don't know each other well," I spit out some blood.

Hide sure was rough. At least when he got angry, that is.

"You don't even call me by my name- why should I call you by what you want to be called?"

"Hmph. Kirishima," I said foully. For whatever reason (maybe it was too long), I just didn't like her name. It was too long. Especially with an honorific.

"Itsuwaru. Have you asked Hide to get a different place?"

"Hmph. What we need is f*cking soundproof walls. That idiot Kaneki just keeps rutting in the middle of the night, making the most obscene noises. I already f*cking having nightmares, and his constant, real screams just make it worse."

"A different place would also fix that while Hide's working on Kaneki's behavior."

"I don't know how that idiot can sleep through all that," I scoffed. "And I d*mn sure would like to live far f*cking away from Kaneki. I asked for it in the beginning. But that idiot Hide keeps saying the CCG made it a deal that we seven have to sleep with a 'supervisor' or some sh*t. You're lucky, Rabb-Kirishima. They aren't wanting to supervise YOU."

She raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think I'm not being supervised?"

"Duh, you aren't living with dipsh*t Hide."

"For your information, Itsuwaru, I live with Hinami under cameras from the CCG. The only place where you won't be seen in my house now is the bathroom, but there is a camera right in front of the bathroom. In other words, they'll know every second me or Hinami go anywhere. There are also cameras in Anteiku and the other Anteiku ghouls' houses. It's part of the deal, Itsuwaru, and if you don't like it, you can march your sassy a** right to the CCG and ask for death. I don't like this anymore than you do, but we have to deal with it. Hide is working really hard to keep us out of harm's way from the CCG. This is the best course of action."

"... Hmph. Can't I live ANYWHERE besides that f*cking house?"

"Maybe we can talk that over with Hide later. But are you comfortable with living with cameras watching your every move?"

"! ... Well.. it's better than having to wake up to Kaneki's obscene noises."

"Then yeah, I think Hide could arrange something for you. But he probably thought you guys wouldn't want to be under a camera's watch every passing moment. Anyway, get to work already. You're all healed up now." I rubbed my cheek with the back of my hand.

Still a little sore, but yeah, I'm healed from Hide's revenge.

That turd gets angry over the stupidest things.

\--------------------

"You know.." {Narino}

"Hmn?" I mumbled absently.

"You have some serious bags right there, man." I slowly turned my head to him, and he gulped, quickly looking away. "Never mind."

"... Koumano-san, can I have 10 milligrams of stomach acid please?"

"Sure thing, Nagachika," Koumano-san hopped off the counter (finally) and left.

"How many times have I told him to get off the counter?" I inquired absently, returning to my work. Truth be told, I didn't f*cking need anything.

"I think it was five times today, Hide." {Kaneki}

"And it's only f*cking how long into the f*cking day?"

"Um, five minutes?"

"F*cking b*tch can't take a f*cking warning. It's dangerous to sit up there like that!" I complained.

"I know you care, Hide," Kaneki rubbed my arms. I sighed and lightly pushed him off. "?"

I stirred the ingredients in the small bowl until they were one, single liquid. I wafted the smell towards my nose, sniffing. I crinkled my nose.

"Something's still iffy."

Narino-san groaned, "Oh come on, Nagachika, we have literally been just sitting here for, like, weeks! You just keep experimenting! At this rate, I'm NEVER gonna get to do my job!"

Sagaru-san laughed nervously, "W-We'll get there, Taiga."

"He's right; be patient," I snapped, "I want to make sure this is as perfect as I can get it before I try it on anyone! If you wanna do something, make yourself useful and play a game with Kaneki or something!"

"Aw, but Hide-"

"No buts, Kaneki. You need to relearn social skills. This is a perfect chance. Get some Uno cards or something, Narino-san."

"You kidding me? Koumano's the Runner, not me." I glared at him. "Eek! O-Okay!" he ran off.

Sagaru-san chuckled a little, still clearly nervous, "N-Nagachika-san, maybe you could be a little bit kinder..? You seem stressed and tired. You ought to-"

"How the f*ck can I get sleep when they keep babbling at night, huh? Tell me that!" I snapped, and Sagaru-san went quiet. "Every, f*cking, night! G*d d*mn it!"

"I'm sorry, Hide."

"It's not just you! Ryou just can't f*cking deal with it!" I stirred rapidly, almost breaking my mixing tool, "I mean, G*d d*mn it, learn to ignore some things! It happens every f*cking night, the same f*cking way! Let us f*cking sleep!!"

Crack!

I looked at my bowl.

"F*cking wooden f*ck things, can't f*cking-"

"I-I'm back-"

"DON'T YOU F*CKING DARE GET ON THAT F*CKING COUNTER, YOU PIECE OF SH*T."

"."

"GET ME A PACK OF UNO!" I pointed to the door.

"O-Okay!" he ran off.

"But didn't you make Taig-" {Yuki}

Intense glare.

". Sorry," he squeaked.

\-------------------------

"What was the next f*cking ingredient?"

"Um, next you had put in some RC cells?"

I looked at Sagaru-san weird. "Did I really?"

"... Yes?"

"What the f*ck?" I mumbled under my breath, "Was I trying to make something to make a ghoul eat something other than flesh or something to make a ghoul not need to f*cking eat?"

"..." Sagaru-san fidgeted awkwardly.

| / _

"Ah.. I-I'm sorry. I haven't been getting good sleep lately," I sighed, putting the bowl down.

"That much is obvi-sorry." {Narino}

"Hide, I know some ways to-"

"Stop. No, Kaneki. Just be silent, okay? Sit in the corner."

"."

"Good boy." I took a deep breath, clasping my hands behind my head. "F*ck."

"U-Um.."

"Yea?" I got a little annoyed.

"I.. I.. Maybe I could help you relax?"

"Oh, f*ck yeah, Yuki's the f*cking best at relaxing people," Narino-san so helpfully commented, but he went quiet at my glare.

I sat down in one of the chairs. "I'm sorry. Really. But I don't need help relaxing, thanks."

"Are you sure?" Sagaru-san cocked his head so very innocently, making me twitch. That look reminded me of the old, black-haired Kaneki. I gulped.

"Yeah. I'm sure," I replied. My throat was dry.

F*ck. I'm so f*cking tired. And I got a serious case of homesickness clearly.

"M-Maybe I do need a break.." my eyes softened slightly.

With those seven and Kaneki and me.. it's been really rough.

Unbeknownst to me, Narino-san's eyes glinted, and he whispered to Sagaru-san, who nodded along. He looked at Narino-san with wide eyes once he was finished speaking.

I wasn't aware that there was already a plan in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Ending Play-
> 
> me: fufufufu, do you know what they're planning? I'm sure you don't~!!
> 
> Natsume: Senseless idiot.
> 
> Kree: That she is, that she is.
> 
> me: Jerks..
> 
> Hide: umm... where am I..?
> 
> me: Hide! Welcome, Hide, welcome! Welcome to my beloved and well-known-
> 
> Kree and Uni: Pfft
> 
> me: -Ending Play! Now if you'd please excuse me (bows and chases after Kree and Uni)
> 
> Hide: Huh..
> 
> Rage: (stares)
> 
> Hide: ? Is there something on my face?
> 
> Rage: (looks away)
> 
> Hide: ? ? (confused) Well, it's nice to meet you, um..
> 
> Rage: You have no business knowing my name.
> 
> Hide: ..? Okay, Mr. You have no business knowing my name. My name is Hideyoshi Nagachika, but please, call me Hide.
> 
> Rage: ...
> 
> Hide: ...?
> 
> Rage (stoically): The Ending Play is out.
> 
> Hide: ???
> 
> -Ending Play Out-
> 
>  
> 
> Ichinose Koujimaku-boss of new research line; Taiga Narino(Tester)-red hair, green eyes; Yuki Sagaru(Recorder)- blue hair, blue eyes; Ichi Koujimaku(Supervisor)-black hair, glasses, black eyes; Hashiga Koumano(Runner)-curly red hair with a tint of pink and orange that reaches his shoulders, purple eyes
> 
> Daichi (real name=Shun Tomai), Mizu (real name=Takumi Morimu), Kuki (real name=Hiroshi Sora), Kasai (real name=Michi Konaru), Jiko (real name=Kenta Hatomi), Hakai (real name=Reidon Zeto), and finally, Hidei (real name=Ryou Itsuwaru). Most of the rules were adopted from his Master, including taping every second and sending the videos to the person who mattered most to the student. For Mizu, it was his little brother, Yuu-chan (full name=Yuuki).


End file.
